Button and button hole structure

ABSTRACT

A button and buttonhole structure is configured so that parts linking each of a pair of buttons and a section of fabric on one side are positioned at the distal ends or proximal ends of a pair of buttonholes provided to a section of fabric on the other side. Therefore, when the buttons are buttoned, it is possible to have the buttons move less, relative to the buttonholes, than in the past, and the buttons can stay buttoned more stably. As a result, the buttons are less likely to come undone inadvertently, and increasing the size of the buttonholes facilitates buttoning and unbuttoning of the buttons.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a button applied to clothing and thelike, more specifically, a button and buttonhole structure wherein bothsections are buttoned to each other by fastening the button attached toone section of a fabric through the buttonhole provided to the othersection of the fabric (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as“buttonhole type”).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It has been conventionally done to button a pair of sections of a fabricwherein each section is separated from each other such as front openingparts of coats or sides of boots. One of the most widely used buttonsamong the above buttons is a buttonhole type which can button bothsections by fastening the button attached to one section of the fabricthrough the buttonhole provided to the other section of the fabric. Whenbuttoning or unbuttoning using with the buttonhole type, the button hasto be passed through the buttonhole. This operation is not easy for aninfant. Also, it is not easy for a senior when a button is small.Additionally, it is difficult when fingers do not move as operatorwants, such as when the operator wears gloves or the hand is numb withcold.

To simplify buttoning and unbuttoning, it is simply considered that asize of the buttonhole is extended. In this case, however, since thebutton could be undone suddenly, it is hard to exhibit a function as thebutton which buttons a pair of the sections of the fabric. The structureexcept the buttonhole type is developed under such circumstances. Forexample, cloths which allow even infants and seniors to simplifyfastening a pair of sections of the cloth have been invented as follows:

Patent Document 1

-   Publication of Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1989-157101

Patent Document 2

-   Publication of Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3175405

A shirt having hook and loop fasteners which are attached to oppositesurfaces of a pair of overlapping parts thereof and fasten theoverlapping parts is disclosed in patent document 1.

A shirt having snap-buttons which are attached to a plurality of a pairof overlapping parts is disclosed in patent document 2.

Patent document 1 and 2 show that a pair of sections of a fabric can befastened by mutually pressing the hook and loop fasteners and by fittinga convex part of the snap button into a concave part thereof. Therefore,a pair of sections of a fabric can be easily fastened compared with theconventional buttonhole type. Also, according to patent document 1 and2, since the hook and loop fasteners and snap buttons can be easilyundone by pulling the sections in the opposite directions, a latchingfabric can be relatively easily separated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The buttonhole type is, however, still the most popular and is used formost clothing and the like. This tendency is quite significant in thefield of shirt or the like. It is considered that the reason why abuttonhole type is not completely replaced with a hook and loop fastenerand a snap button as follows.

Firstly, there is a problem of a cost. Since the material cost for thehook and loop fastener and the snap button is higher than that cost forthe buttonhole type which needs simply the button cost, it is a burdenon the manufacturers.

Secondly, there is a problem that it is unacceptable to users.Especially, elderly people have difficulty changing the buttonhole typeto the hook and loop fastener or the snap button, since they are used tobuttoning through a buttonhole.

On the other hand, there are some advantages in buttonhole type. Forexample, the brain is activated by using fingers while buttoning orunbuttoning. Particularly, it is said that brain development in earlychildhood is accelerated by buttoning and unbuttoning.

In light of the aforementioned conventional technical problem, thepresent invention aims to provide a button and buttonhole which canfacilitate buttoning and unbuttoning of the buttons and are not easilyundone inadvertently.

The above-described problems are solved by a button and buttonholestructure having a button attached to a section of fabric on one sideand a buttonhole provided on a section of fabric on the other side forpassing the button comprising:

-   -   at least one pair of said buttons and buttonholes,    -   wherein a distal end and a proximal end are respectively        provided in said pair of the buttonholes,    -   wherein parts linking each of the pair of the buttons with the        sections of the fabric on one side are configured so as to be        positioned at the distal ends or the proximal ends respectively.

According to the present invention, since a button and buttonholestructure is configured so that parts linking each of a pair of buttonswith a section of fabric on one side are positioned at the distal endsor proximal ends of a pair of buttonholes provided to a section offabric on the other side, when the buttons are buttoned, it is possibleto have the buttons move less, relative to the buttonholes, than that ofthe conventional configuration. Thus, a latching state of the button canbe stabilized, it can be prevented that the buttons are less likely tocome undone through the buttonholes inadvertently. On the other hand,when a size of the buttonhole is increase, it becomes easier to buttonand unbutton.

In addition, when one button of the pair of the buttons and onebuttonhole of the pair of the buttonholes are arranged in an orthogonaldirection to a movement direction of the both sections of fabric whenthe other button of the pair of the buttons is buttoned into the otherbuttonhole of the pair of the buttonholes and the buttonhole is cutlinearly in the orthogonal direction, it is easy to control the movementof the button with respect to the buttonhole and a comparatively largerarea where the button is buttoned to the other section of the fabric canbe ensured. Therefore, the configuration having large buttonholes inwhich it is easy to button and unbutton and the buttons are not easilyundone inadvertently is easily provided.

Furthermore, when either the distal end or proximal end of thebuttonhole is bent in the lateral direction, it is easier to button andunbutton compared with the buttonholes having straight line shapes onlyas the buttons may be more easily passed through the buttonholes.

Also, even if the buttonhole is formed of two or more straight lineshapes, curved shapes or shapes of other figures, it is easy to buttonand unbutton compared with the buttonholes having only a straight line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a shirt with a button and buttonhole structureof the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of the first embodiment of thepresent invention when buttoning.

FIG. 3 is a front view of some placement examples of a button andbuttonhole structure of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the second embodiment ofthe present invention when buttoning.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of the third embodiment of thepresent invention when buttoning.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a variety of the shapes of the buttonhole ofthe embodiments from the 4th to 21st of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a shirt with a button and buttonhole structureof the 22nd embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Different embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 7. The present invention, however, is notlimited to these embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows a shirt 100 with a button and buttonhole structure(hereinafter simply referred to as “button structure”) 10 of the firstembodiment of the present invention. Buttons 22, 42 and 60 are attachedto one section of a fabric 12 of the shirt 100. The buttons 22, 42 and60 are passed through buttonholes 32, 42 (An illustration of thebuttonhole of the top (first) button 60 is omitted.) which are providedon the other section of the fabric 14 of the shirt 100 so that thebuttons 22, 42 and 60 are buttoned into the other section of the fabric14, namely, both sections of the fabric 12 and 14 are fastened. Theshirt 100 has the first button 60 near the collar and three pairs of thebutton structure 10 under the top of the second button 22. One sectionof the fabric 12 and the other section of the fabric 14 are connectedwith each other in the shirt 100, but the present invention can beapplied for a button and buttonhole structure provided on a pair ofsections of separate fabrics. In addition, just one pair of the buttonstructure 10 functions adequately, but multiple pairs thereof can beprovided as the present embodiment.

An enlarged view of a main part of the button structure 10 is shown inFIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the button structure 10 comprises a pair ofthe buttons 22, 42 and a pair of the buttonholes 32, 52. The buttons 22,42 of button structure 10 have circular shapes, and the buttonholes 32,35 are cut linearly in the orthogonal direction (Y-direction) relativeto the lateral direction (X-direction), that is the direction ofmovement of both fabrics 12, 14 when one intends to pass the button 22through the buttonhole 32. The X-direction is typically identical withthat of the width of a human body. The Y-direction is typicallyidentical with that of the height of a human body. For convenience, thewidth of the buttonholes is shown with exaggeration in FIG. 2, which isalso the case with FIGS. 3 to 7.

The buttonholes 32, 52 are cut linearly in the Y-direction, and distalends 34, 54 and proximal ends 36, 56 are respectively provided in theY-direction. Furthermore, linking parts 24, 44 where the buttons 22, 42are connected to one section of the fabric 12 are configured so as to bepositioned at the distal ends 34, 54 when the buttons 22, 42 arebuttoned. The button structure 10 is configured so that the linkingparts 24, 44 are positioned at the distal ends 34, 54 at the time ofnon-wearing of the shirt 100, but the button structure 10 may also beconfigured so that the linking parts 24, 44 are positioned at the distalends 34, 54 at the time of wearing of the shirt 100. The linking parts24, 44 are typically formed of threads for connecting the buttons 22, 42and the one section of the fabric 12, but linking parts can be formed ofparts of the buttons 22, 24, such as metal fastening parts of coveredbuttons.

According to the above configuration, even if the buttons 22, 42 aremoved to the upward direction in FIG. 2, the button 22 cannot be movedthereto from the distal end 34 of buttonhole 32. Therefore, the button42 which is attached to the same fabric 12 as the button 22 is alsohardly moved thereto. Also, even if the buttons 22, 42 are moved to thedownward direction in FIG. 2, the button 42 cannot be moved thereto fromthe proximal end 54 of buttonhole 32. Therefore, the button 22 which isattached to the same fabric 12 as the button 42 is also hardly movedthereto. As a result, it is possible to have the buttons 22, 42 moveless relative to the buttonholes 32, 52 so that the buttons 22, 42 canstay buttoned more stably. Thereby, the button structure in which thebuttons are not easily undone inadvertently compared with theconventional buttonhole type can be provided.

In consideration of the thickness of the button and/or the correlationswith other buttonholes, and the like, it is sufficient that thebuttonhole according to the present invention has the size capable ofpassing the button. When the size of the buttonhole in the longitudinaldirection (Y-direction) is almost as same as that of the button in thesame direction, the button structure in which the buttons are not easilyundone inadvertently compared with the conventional buttonhole type canbe provided as described above. On the other hand, the size of thebuttonhole in the longitudinal direction (Y-direction) can be moreincreasingly than that of the diameter of the buttons 22, 42(approximately 1.2 times) such as the buttonholes 32, 52 of the buttonstructure 10. Thereby, it becomes easy to pass the button 22, 42 throughthe buttonholes 32, 52, namely, the button structure facilitatingbuttoning and unbuttoning compared with the conventional structure canbe provided. According to the button structure 10, both functions offacilitating buttoning and unbuttoning and being not easily undoneinadvertently are realized. The more the size of the buttonhole isincreased, the easier the button is buttoned and unbuttoned, but thesize of the buttonhole can be arranged according to the purpose of use.

Button structure 10 can be applied even if a plurality of the buttonstructures 10 are aligned in the different arrangement manners as shownin FIG. 3. The X-direction and the Y-direction in FIG. 3-7 are identicalwith those in FIG. 2. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 (a) and similarlyto the shirt 100 (See FIG. 1.), it is possible to include a button 62which does not constitute the button structure 10 and a plurality of thebutton structures 10 to follow the button 62. When the buttons 22, 42and the buttonholes 32, 52 of the button structure 10 are adjacent toeach other, the distortion of the fabric which is produced by buttoningthe buttons 22, 42 into the buttonholes 32, 52 can be suppressed. On theother hand, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), it is also possible to include aplurality of the button structure 10 which are aligned around the button64 which does not constitute the button structure 10. In short, it isnot necessary that the buttons 22, 42 and the buttonholes 32, 52 of thebutton structure 10 are adjacent to each other.

FIG. 4 shows a button structure 10 a of the second embodiment of thepresent invention. Since the basic structure of the button structure 10a is similar to the button structure 10, different points will bedescribed below.

In the button structure 10 a, similarly to the button structure 10, thebuttonholes 32 a, 52 a are cut linearly in the Y-direction. In thebuttonholes 32 a, 52 a, however, the distal ends, 34, 54, where thelinking parts 24, 44 linking the buttons 22, 42 with the one section ofthe fabric 12 are positioned, are bent in the lateral direction (theleft direction in FIG. 4) so that hooking parts 38, 58 are formed.

When buttoning the buttons 22, 42 of structure 10 a, the parts 24, 44can be caught on the hooking parts 38, 58 as illustrated. Thereby, itbecomes more difficult to move the buttons 22, 42 to the Y-direction andit is possible to securely prevent the buttons 22, 42 from being undoneinadvertently compared with the button structure 10. Furthermore, sincethe extent of the buttonholes 32 a, 42 a through which the buttons 22,42 are passed become larger than that of the buttonholes 32, 52 with thestraight line shape such as the button structure 10, it is also possibleto facilitate buttoning and unbuttoning.

As shown in FIG. 5, a button structure 10 b can be configured so thatthe linking parts 24, 44 linking the buttons 22, 42 with the one sectionof the fabric 12 are positioned at the proximal ends 36 b, 56 b of thebuttonholes 32 b, 52 b respectively when buttoning the buttons 22, 42.The button structure 10 b can perform similar effects to those of thebutton structure 10. In addition, though illustrations are omitted, hookparts similar to the hooking parts 38, 58 of the button structure 10 acan be provided with the proximal ends 36 b, 56 b of the buttonstructure 10 b.

FIG. 6 shows different variations of the buttonhole which can be appliedto the present invention. The buttonholes in FIG. (a) to (g) have two ormore straight line shapes. The distal ends 36 c, 56 c of the buttonstructure 10 c in FIG. 6 (a) in which the linking parts 24, 44 of thebuttons 22, 42 are not positioned are bent in the right direction inFIG. 6 (a). Therefore, the buttonholes 32 c, 52 c are cut linearly inthe Y-direction and are also cut linearly in the X-direction. Since thisallows the extent of the buttonholes 32 a, 42 a through which thebuttons 22, 42 are passed to become larger, it facilitates buttoning andunbuttoning. In order to obtain this effect, the proximal end or thedistal end, regardless of existence of the linking part of the button,can be bent in either direction, right or left. Also, the proximal endor the distal end can be bent into a curved shape such as the proximalends 36 d, 56 d of the button structure 10 d in FIG. 6 (b).

Also, in order to increase the extent of the buttonhole passing thebutton, the shape of the buttonhole can be T-shaped such as thebuttonholes 32 e, 52 e in FIG. 6 (c) or the buttonholes 32 f, 52 f inFIG. 6 (d). In addition, the buttonhole can be formed in cross-shaped asshown in FIG. 6 (e), (0 or Y-shaped as shown in FIG. 6 (g).

On the other hand, it is not necessary that the buttonhole which can beapplied to the present invention always needs to be cut linearly in theY-direction. For example, the shapes of the buttonhole can be a V-shapedsuch as buttonholes 32 j, 52 j in FIG. 6 (h) or a curved shape such asbuttonhole 32 k, 52 k in FIG. 6 (i) (the button structure 10 k has aU-shaped.). As shown in FIG. 6 (j), the buttonhole can be the buttonhole32 l, 52 l having a straight line shape inclined to the Y-direction.

According to the buttonholes 32 j, 32 k as shown in FIGS. 6 (h), (j), itis easy to pass the button 22 through the buttonhole 32 j, 32 k, becausethe shape of the buttonhole changes to the shape similar to that of thebuttonhole 52 m due to the segments 31, 31 a being folded when buttoningor unbuttoning.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6 (k) to (r), the extent of the buttonholepassing a button can be increased by forming the buttonhole into otherdifferently figured shapes. In that case, the size of the buttonhole isdetermined in consideration of the thickness of the button and/or thecorrelations with other buttonholes, and the like. Also, as is shown inFIG. 6 (q), (r), the pairs of buttonholes 32 r, 52 r, 32 t, 52 t do notneed to be symmetric in the shapes. This is also the case with thebuttonholes of straight shapes or curved shapes.

In the foregoing description, the embodiments in which the button andbuttonhole are provided in the Y-direction; but the present inventioncan also apply to a pair of the buttons 22, 42 and the buttonholes 32 u,52 u arranged in the X-direction, such as, a coat 100 a with a buttonline of the double-breasted coat of FIG. 7. The specific explanation isomitted because its function is similar to that of the button structure10; but the buttonholes 32 u, 52 u are cut linearly in the X-direction,and a distal end and a proximal end are provided in that direction,though not illustrated. And, in the case of the button structure 10 u,the linking parts (not shown) of the buttons 22, 42 with one fabric 12 aare configured to be positioned at the distal ends of the respectivebuttonholes 32 u, 52 u. It goes without saying that the shapes of thebuttonholes 32 u, 52 u can assume other shapes than those describedabove.

The present invention can be applied to a pair of buttonholes in whichthe proximal ends as well as the distal ends are respectively provided;and the direction of arrangement of a pair of buttons is not limited tothe X-direction and the Y-direction. The proximal ends and the distalends may not be necessarily the ends of the buttonholes themselves;those ends may be formed as result, for example, of threading a part ofthe buttonhole. Also, the present invention can apply regardless of theshapes of button themselves and the size of the buttonhole can bedetermined appropriately considering the shapes, the sizes of thebuttons, and the like.

The button and the buttonhole structure of the present invention isapplicable to other button arrangements than the button arrangementdisposed in the front center, such as, those of shirts. Also, it isapplicable to boots, hats, as well as bags, so long as a pair of buttonand buttonhole may be provided.

As described above, according to the present invention, a button andbuttonhole structure which facilitates buttoning and unbuttoning, and isless likely to come undone inadvertently can be provided.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES

-   -   10 button and buttonhole structure    -   12 one section of fabric (the button side)    -   14 another section of fabric (the buttonhole side)    -   22, 42 button    -   24, 44 linking part    -   32, 52 buttonhole    -   34, 54 distal end    -   36, 56 proximal end

1. A button and buttonhole structure having a button attached to asection of fabric on one side and a buttonhole provided on a section offabric on the other side for passing the button comprising: at least onepair of said buttons and buttonholes, wherein a distal end and aproximal end are respectively provided in said pair of the buttonholes,wherein parts linking each of the pair of the buttons the sections ofthe fabric on one side are configured so as to be positioned at thedistal ends or the proximal ends respectively.
 2. The button andbuttonhole structure according to claim 1, wherein said pairs of buttonsand buttonholes are arranged orthogonally relative to the direction ofmovement of said sections of the fabric; and said buttonholes havelinear cuts in said orthogonal direction.
 3. The button and buttonholestructure according to claim 2, wherein either distal end or proximalend of said buttonholes is bent in said direction of movement.
 4. Thebutton and buttonhole structure according to claim 1, wherein saidbuttonholes are formed of two or more linear cuts, curved cuts or shapesof figures.